Door-To-Door Salesman Accused of Shocking Sales Pitch

Stories of violence in door-to-door magazine sales is raising concern. The latest incident involves a salesman in Boone, N.C., who has been arrested and charged for purportedly giving an astoundingly sinister sales pitch.

The man, Jerad Michael (pictured at left), who was peddling magazine subscriptions, allegedly forced his way into a woman's home, and refused to leave unless the woman either "submitted to drug use and sexual activity" or bought what he was selling, reports TV Station WCYB in Bristol, Va.

Magazine door-to-door selling is mostly unregulated, and the industry often recruits young and inexperienced people, seduced by "help wanted" ads offering money and travel. While many of the sellers are clearly predators, many others are victims. For a significant number, it's their first job, and crew members end up traveling the country, living out of cheap hotels, paying for all their own expenses, earning around 10 to 25 percent of every subscription they sell, and handing over most of their commission to higher-ups, according to The New York Times.

A bad sales day, or a bout of sickness, can easily send salesmen into debt. The Portland Tribune called the industry a "slimy, violent and mostly invisible underworld -- an underworld that turns homeless, naive and scared young adults from across the country into what often amounts to 21st century indentured servants."

Door-to-door magazine selling took in more than $147 million in 2005, the National Field Selling Association reported. According to some estimates, there are as many as 30,000 magazine sellers knocking on doors every day.